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Abstract Background Major trauma has been reported to be a major cause of hospitalization and intensive care utilization worldwide and consumes a significant amount of the health care budget. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and treatment outcome of major trauma patients admitted into our ICU and to identify predictors of outcome. Methods Between January 2008 and December 2010, a descriptive prospective study of all trauma admissions to a multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) of Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania was conducted. Results A total of 312 cases of major trauma were admitted in the ICU, representing 37.1% of the total ICU admissions. Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 5.5:1. Their median age was 27 years. Trauma admissions were almost exclusively emergencies (95.2%) and came mainly from the Accident and Emergency (60.6%) and Operating room (23.4%). Road traffic crash (RTC) was the most common cause of injuries affecting 70.8% of patients. Two hundred fourteen patients (68.6%) required surgical intervention. The overall ICU length of stay (LOS) for all trauma patients ranged from 1 to 59 days (median = 8 days). The median ICU length of hospital stay (LOS) for survivors and non-survivors were 8 and 5 days respectively. (P = 0.002). Mortality rate was 32.7%. Mortality rate of trauma patients was significantly higher than that of all ICU admissions (32.7% vs. 18.8%, P = 0.0012). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, multiple injuries, severe head injuries and burns were responsible for a longer mean ICU stay (P < 0.001) whereas admission Glasgow Coma Score < 9, systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, injury severity core >16, prolonged duration of loss of consciousness, delayed ICU admission (0.028), the need for ventilatory support and finding of space occupying lesion on computed tomography scan significantly influenced mortality (P < 0.001). Conclusion Trauma resulting from road traffic crashes is a leading cause of intensive care utilization in our hospital. Urgent preventive measures targeting at reducing the occurrence of RTCs is necessary to reduce ICU trauma admissions in this region. Improved pre- and in-hospital care of trauma victims will improve the outcome of trauma patients admitted to our ICU.

Geriatric injuries pose a major challenge to surgeons and general practitioners in developing countries. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, injury characteristics and outcomes of geriatric injury among patients at Shinyanga Regional Hospital in Tanzania. Data was collected using a pre-tested, coded questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS computer system. A total of 94 geriatric trauma patients constituting 22.7% of all trauma admissions were studied. The male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Their mean age was 68.5 years (ranged 60-98 years). Premorbid illness was reported in 38.3% of patients. Most injuries were intentional in fifty-three (56.4%) patients. Assaults, falls and road traffic crashes were the mechanism of injuries in 52.1%, 19.1% and 11.7% of cases, respectively. The majority of cases of assault were females accounting for 64.6%. The majority of injuries (81.9%) occurred at home. Pre-hospital care was recorded in 5.3% of cases. The musculoskeletal (72.3%) and head (66.0%) regions were commonly affected. Soft tissue injuries (wounds) (89.4%) and fractures (52.2%) were the most common type of injuries. The majority of patients (90.4%) underwent surgical treatment of which wound debridement was the most common procedure performed in 91.8% of cases. Complication rate was 39.4%. The mean length of hospital stay was 28.6 days (ranged 1 - 124 days). The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in patients with co-morbidities, long bone fractures and those with complications (P<0.05). Mortality rate was 14.9% and it was significantly related to advanced age, presence of pre-morbid illness, high injury severity score, severe head injuries and the need for ventilatory support (P< 0.05). In conclusion, traumatic injuries in elderly constitute a major but preventable public health problem in Shinyanga region and contribute significantly to high morbidity and mortality. Urgent preventive measures focusing at the root causes of the injuries and early appropriate treatment is highly needed to reduce the occurrence, morbidity and mortality associated with these injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Road traffic crash is of growing public health importance worldwide contributing significantly to the global disease burden. There is paucity of published data on road traffic crashes in our local environment. This study was carried out to describe the injury characteristics and outcome of road traffic crash victims in our local setting and provide baseline data for establishment of prevention strategies as well as treatment protocols. Methods: This was a prospective hospital based study of road traffic crash victims carried out at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania between March 2010 and February 2011. After informed consent to participate in the study, all patients were consecutively enrolled into the study. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS computer software version 15.0. Results: A total of 1678 road traffic crash victims were studied. Their male to female ratio was of 2.1:1. The patients ages ranged from 3 to 78 years with the mean and median of 29.45 (± 24.22) and 26.12 years respectively. The modal age group was 21-30 years, accounting for 52.1% patients. Students (58.8%) and businessmen (35.9%) were the majority of road traffic crash victims. Motorcycle (58.8%) was responsible for the majority of road traffic crashes. Musculoskeletal (60.5%) and the head (52.1%) were the most common body region injured. Open wounds (65.9%) and fractures (26.3%) were the most common type of injuries sustained. The majority of patients (80.3%) were treated surgically. Wound debridement was the most common procedure performed in 81.2% of the patients. The complication rate was 23.7%. The overall average length of hospital stay (LOS) was 23.5 ± 12.3 days. Mortality rate was 17.5%. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients who had severe trauma (Kampala Trauma Score II ≤ 6) and those with long bone fractures stayed longer in the hospital and this was significant (P < 0.001) whereas the age of the patient, severe trauma (Kampala Trauma Score II ≤ 6), admission Systolic Blood Pressure < 90 mmHg and severe head injury (Glasgow Coma Score = 3-8) significantly influenced mortality (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Road traffic crashes constitute a major public health problem in our setting and contribute significantly to unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. Urgent preventive measures targeting at reducing the occurrence of road traffic crashes is necessary to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from these injuries. Early recognition and prompt treatment of road traffic injuries is essential for optimal patient outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]